Vassar is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Tuscola County Tuscola County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the The Thumb, Thumb region of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 53,323. The county seat is Caro, Michigan, Caro. The coun ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. Founded March 1, 1849. The population was 2,727 at the 2020 census and 2,697 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

(an increase of about 1.1%). The city is located on the western edge of Vassar Township but is administratively autonomous.

History

Vassar was founded by four men who were led by James M. Edmunds and Townsend North in search of an area to build a dam and start a city. The city was named after Edmunds' uncle, Matthew Vassar, who later founded

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

. It was the first county seat of Tuscola County. In 1860, the seat was moved to Caro. Vassar's growth for the next thirty years was based mainly on its lumbering and a handful of related industries. The settlement became a village in 1871. Vassar was the crossing of the

Michigan Central Michigan Central Station (MCS, also known as Michigan Central Depot) is the historic former main intercity passenger rail station in Detroit, Michigan. Built for the Michigan Central Railroad, it replaced the original depot in downtown Detro ...

's Bay City Branch (from Detroit) and the Port Huron & Northwestern (from 1900 Pere Marquette) line running between Saginaw and Port Huron via Marlette. The voters of the Village of Vassar elected to become a city on September 28, 1944. On February 19, 1945, the voters approved the charter for the City of Vassar.

Geography

*According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The Cass River flows through the city. *It is considered to be part of

the Thumb The Thumb is a region and a peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan, so named because the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula is shaped like a mitten. The Thumb area is generally considered to be in the Central Michigan region, east of t ...

, which in turn is a subregion of the

Flint/Tri-Cities Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan corres ...

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 2,697 people, 1,001 households, and 668 families living in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,154 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 87.4%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 8.8%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.4% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 2.2% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.0% of the population. There were 1,001 households, of which 35.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.2% had a male householder with no wife present, and 33.3% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 2.99. The median age in the city was 32.5 years. 31.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 9% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23% were from 25 to 44; 24.5% were from 45 to 64; and 11.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 49.8% male and 50.2% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,823 people, 991 households, and 676 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 1,062 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.42%

, 8.25%

, 0.21% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 1.35% from other races, and 1.56% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 2.94% of the population. There were 991 households, out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were

living together, 12.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 28.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.14. In the city, the population was spread out, with 34.2% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.9 males. The median income for a household in the city was $38,087, and the median income for a family was $44,924. Males had a median income of $32,045 versus $22,305 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $15,029. About 6.3% of families and 9.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Vassar Public Schools: * Vassar High School * Vassar Junior High School * Central Elementary School * Townsend North Elementary School St. Luke's Lutheran School is a grade school of the

Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as Christian theology, theologically conservative, it was founded ...

in Vassar.

References

{{Authority control Cities in Tuscola County, Michigan Populated places established in 1849 1849 establishments in Michigan